1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structure for a cat scratching post which can be foldable or rigid and, when in use, wraps a corner of a piece of furniture or a wall corner. When positioned to protect a corner the base and vertical panels are each perpendicular to each other. The apparatus specifically protects said corner while remaining structurally independent of the corner. Then the hinged version of the present invention, can be reset—with base pieces parallel—and can be positioned away from the furniture once the cat has acclimated to the post.
2. Art Relating to the Invention
Cats are inclined to scratch furniture primarily at the corners. Experts on the subject, often suggest placing a cat scratching tree or post adjacent to the subject corner(s) of the furniture piece to attract the cat to scratch the post in lieu of the furniture corner. It is suggested that a cat owner train the cat by guiding the cat's paws over the post's vertical surfaces until the cat understand to choose the post over the furniture corner. It is then suggested that when the cat is choosing to use the post, the cat owner then slowly move the post to another desired position away from the furniture corner. This method requires an intense amount of monitoring a cat's whereabouts and mood.
The vast majority of the cat scratching posts, in use today, are rigid, solidly adjoined configurations which are built to remain in one shape. Generally the post's structural material, in the vertical direction, is covered with sisal or carpet or a suitable textile while the naturally covered bark covered tree branch sections are not. The posts generally stand with a base which is a single horizontal piece of material that is generally covered in carpet or sisal or suitable textile.
Single covered panels, with no base piece, or dual attached covered panels—in the vertical direction—with no base, are available. The panels are covered with a suitable material, often sisal, and are mostly meant to be hung on a door via an affixed material loop or, in the case of the dual attached covered panels, they are screwed or nailed to said wall corner.
A two sided adhesive tape is often suggested as a means to deter cats from scratching a furniture corner. The owner can adhere the tape to the subject corner and when the cat starts to scratch, the outer adhesive side of the tape sticks to the paws or gathers, thus frustrating the cat to the point of discouraging the cat from continuing to scratch.
Recently a post was designed to sit adjacent to the corner of furniture, see Griffin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,953 while using the weight of the furniture piece to stabilize the post by resetting the furniture leg(s) on the horizontal base portion of the post. This requires the user to lift the corner(s) of the furniture to set the post. These posts, used other than at and under all corners could leave the furniture slightly cocked or unbalanced.
By far though, most scratching post units are built as a rigid amalgamation of textile covered posts, plateaus and enclaves which might have attached fake rodents, springing bobbles, dangling feathers, fake birds, etc. These sometimes elaborate posts, towers and trees lack a direct structural means to specifically protect furniture from the scratching of cats.